Successful Groundswell NZ Rally Heads Back South

A couple of old Southland farmers managed to stop traffic in Auckland for 10 minutes on Sunday, as the Groundswell NZ entourage bounced its way through the city.

And that’s exactly what Bryce McKenzie and Laurie Paterson wanted to achieve with their Drive 4 Change rally from Invercargill to the Ellerslie Racecourse at the weekend.

Sponsored by John Deere tractors who economically transported the pair and their support crews from one end of the country to the other, the farm vehicles averaged (7.3L/hr).

“They say nothing runs like a deer,” Laurie told the crowd in Auckland when he arrived after a week crawling along State Highway 1.

Groundswell NZ says its not anti-regulation and completely apolitical, and invited Winston Peters, David Seymour, MP Todd McClay and Matt King to speak at the rally in Auckland.

The key message was that if farmers are the most efficient food producers in the world, then why are they being penalised?

“We’ve met some sad people along the way,” Bryce told the crowd in Auckland.

“People have been stifled from what they are doing and have a lot of restrictions on them – everyone whose running a business and who can’t make ends meet.”

There were people supporting them from roadsides and signs being waved from overhead bridges as they travelled up the country – particularly as they got closer to the city.

“The thing that has struck us along the way, is that this country can grow grass, and we need to protect it for future generations,” Laurie said.  Commonsense was what was needed in this country, he continued.

Groundswell NZ announced at the weekend that it has been working on a solution to address the environmental issues as a replacement for the unworkable regulations.

The Drive 4 Change rally was supported by crowdfunding, and Bryce said after heading back south in his tractor, that it was humbling to receive such a following, “that creates an expectation.”